The College Pricing Game

<p>When President Biden canceled college debt last month, he left untouched the problem that created that debt: the soaring price of college.</p><p>In the 1980s, the list price of undergraduate education at a private four-year institution could hit $20,000 a year. At some of these schools in the last couple of years, it has topped $80,000. </p><p>Why has a college education become increasingly costly, and why has that become such a difficult problem to solve?</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/ron-lieber?smid=pc-thedaily">Ron Lieber</a>, a personal finance columnist for The New York Times and author of “The Price You Pay for College.”</p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Instead of making higher education free, the United States subsidizes it later through repayment plans and attempts at debt cancellation. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/03/your-money/student-loans-personal-finance.html?smid=pc-thedaily">The complexity is disrespectful</a>, Ron Lieber writes in his “Your Money” column.</li><li>Also from “Your Money”: Student loan borrowers don’t deserve “forgiveness,”<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/13/your-money/student-loan-forgiveness.html?smid=pc-thedaily"> they deserve an apology</a>. </li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p>